Latitude Park – Web Marketing & Developmenthttps://www.latitudepark.com
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.1https://www.latitudepark.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/cropped-latitude-park-web-design-logo-32x32.pngLatitude Park – Web Marketing & Developmenthttps://www.latitudepark.com
323230 Ways to Increase Conversions on Your Websitehttps://www.latitudepark.com/website-optimization/30-ways-to-increase-conversions-on-your-website/
https://www.latitudepark.com/website-optimization/30-ways-to-increase-conversions-on-your-website/#respondWed, 16 Jan 2019 15:15:41 +0000https://www.latitudepark.com/?p=1733Welcome to the new year! We all have big plans and goals for our businesses moving forward into 2020. In order to start increasing revenue we need to look at how our ad dollars are spent, where online traffic is directed and how we are converting that traffic into customers. Typically this starts with your website game! Getting traffic to your website is great, but if that traffic doesn’t convert, it’s almost useless.

In this article we will outline 30 strategies to get visitors to take action and increase your bottom line immediately, today!

1. Include as few fields as possible in your lead gen form.

When asking for information in an email opt-in form, ask for as little information as necessary. Having 1 to 3 fields is ideal. If you have to get a lot of information, use a 2 step form where step one is auto-saved. We can help you with that!

2. Add a guarantee.

Even in 2019 guarantees still carry clout! Include a no-questions-asked refund policy on all purchases. This reduces risk, and increased sales will make up for any returns.

3. Don’t be afraid to use words that inspire action.

When testing out different calls to action, try using action language that spurs visitors to take action (for example, “grab yours,” “reserve your seat”)

4. Use testimonials.

Testimonials reduce risk and provide social proof. Use them on product landing pages as well as on your email opt-in landing page.

5. Clearly state the benefits of your product or service.

Listing the features of your product is important, but it’s even more important to tell potential customers exactly how your product will help them or solve their problem.

6. Pay careful attention to your headline.

Your headline is perhaps the single most important element of your landing page. Brainstorm at least 10 possibilities before choosing the strongest one.

7. Keep conversion elements above the fold.

Opt-in boxes and other conversion elements should be above the fold for optimal results.

8. Use video to humanize your brand.

Include a simple video on landing pages to show there’s a real person behind your brand.

9. Create dedicated landing pages for pay-per-click ads.

If you’re using AdWords or another form of PPC ads, be sure to send these visitors to a dedicated landing page (not your home page!).

10. Include subscriber or social-media follower counts.

Just like testimonials, including social proof helps reduce risk and increase conversions.

11. Incorporate strong calls to action (CTAs) into every piece of content on your site.

Let your readers know exactly what you want them to do next, whether that’s click a button, read a blog post or fill out a form.

12. Recommend related products.

Include links to related content or products to keep visitors engaged and on your site.

13. Include stock numbers.

If you have a tangible product, include the number of remaining stock with your product descriptions (for example: “Order now … only 3 left in stock”).

14. Lose the hype.

Most consumers are too savvy to fall for hype-based copywriting. Lose the hype, and focus instead on writing clear, compelling copy that helps your visitors make a purchase decision.

15. Test variations of your CTA button.

Your “buy now” or “order now” button may perform quite differently depending on where it’s placed, what color it is and how big it is. Test out several variations to see which ones perform best.

16. Tell visitors exactly what they’re going to get.

Provide visitors with absolutely everything they need to know about your product: What are the features and benefits? What does it look like? What are the possible uses? Who will benefit most from it? How will it be delivered?

17. Include a clear value proposition.

Tell potential buyers what’s special about your product. How is it different and better than every other, similar product on the market?

18. Give your visitors tunnel vision.

When creating a landing page, remove anything that could potentially distract your visitors, such as a navigation bar and other CTAs. Your landing page should be 100 percent about getting your visitors to take one, specific action.

19. Include a privacy statement on opt-in forms.

Your privacy policy can have a huge impact on your email conversions. In one experiment, changing the wording just slightly resulted in a 19 percent increase in conversions.

20. Get your visitors excited.

Use emotionally-charged language and amazing storytelling to get your visitors eager and excited to try your product.

21. Meet the expectations of your PPC visitors.

If visitors are coming to your landing page via a PPC ad, make sure your ad copy is consistent with your landing page copy. Your ad should tell them exactly what they’ll find once they click through to your site.

22. Offer various payment options.

Believe it or not, not everyone wants to use Paypal. Consider offering a variety of payment methods to satisfy the preferences of all your potential customers.

23. Include consumer reviews for products.

There’s no doubt that consumer reviews are extremely influential in helping people make purchase decisions. In fact, according to a study by Zendesk, 88 percent of respondents said their buying decisions were influenced by positive and negative reviews.

24. Test out various color combinations on your landing pages.

Different colors can signify different things to different people (for example, light blue can be calming, while red can evoke feelings of stress or even anger). Test a variety of palettes to see which ones result in optimal conversion rates.

25. Use high-quality images.

Using generic, tacky stock photos can send the wrong message about your brand. Use professional-quality photos where possible.

26. Use CTA buttons rather than links.

Buttons are more obvious and more clickable, particularly when viewed on mobile devices.

27. Use a chat tool.

Offer live chat to help answer questions and alleviate any concerns potential customers may have.

28. Use directional cues.

Move your visitors’ attention to your most important on-page element through the use of arrows or other visual cues. Just be careful to stay tasteful — flashy red arrows generally don’t work like they used to!

29. Use pictures of happy, smiling people.

It’s commonly believed that these types of images result in the highest conversion rates.

And Finally,

30. Make sure you include contact info.

Give your customers confidence in buying from you by including complete contact info in an easily accessible location.

That’s It!

Hope you and your business have a prosperous 2019!!!

Looking for more ways to increase conversions, increase sales or bring in traffic to your website? We can help! Email Us Today at sales@latitudepark.com or Call 813-498-0053

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/website-optimization/30-ways-to-increase-conversions-on-your-website/feed/Why Having Great Online Business Ratings Will Help Your Company Succeedhttps://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/why-having-great-online-business-ratings-will-help-your-company-succeed/
https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/why-having-great-online-business-ratings-will-help-your-company-succeed/#respondSun, 08 Apr 2018 06:36:00 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=969Did you know that fully 90% of customers read online reviews before visiting a company — either online or at a brick-and-mortar location? What’s even more sobering, a whopping 84% of people trust business ratings they find on the internet as much as they would a personal recommendation.

Online reviews do more than just provide information to would-be customers. They can actually make or break your business’s reputation. Let’s take a closer look.

First, You Need to Be Found

The very first step toward building your online reputation through reviews and ratings is, of course, to make sure you have a presence on review sites. Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook are the three big ones. Depending on your business, you may also want to secure listings on Angie’s List, OpenTable, TripAdvisor, and any other industry-specific directory.

Listing your business will also help your search engine optimization efforts. It’s crucial to make certain that the information you provide — especially address, phone number, and hours of operation — is consistent across all platforms. If Yelp thinks that you open at 8 a.m., while Facebook has it as 9 a.m., both customers and Google’s spiders will get confused. This, in turn, can lead to a lower ranking, negative ratings, and losing business to your competition.

A Word on Soliciting Reviews

Of course, you want to populate your profiles with great reviews and 5-star business ratings. You may even be tempted to pay a person or company to write up some glowing praise for you — but resist that temptation.

Savvy consumers can spot such fake reviews, and this deception will damage your company’s reputation to a much greater extent than having few or no ratings. Not only is this practice immoral, but it can also get you in legal hot water, too.

That doesn’t mean you are powerless when it comes to getting reviews, however. One simple way to drive traffic to your profiles on review sites? Ask your customers!

A call-to-action can be posted in your brick-and-mortar store, included in a marketing email, added to your website, or even printed on your receipt. Keep it simple: “If you enjoyed your meal, please take a moment to review us on Yelp!” or a similar invitation will suffice.

Research shows that requests like this are remarkably effective at garnering ratings and reviews. As long as there’s no payment or trade-off for positive reviews, and customers are free to speak their mind and state their opinion, you’ll be in the clear.

The Paradoxical Power of Negative Reviews

Naturally, you want all the reviews and business ratings to be positive. Or…do you?

It turns out that a spotless online review profile can actually be detrimental to your reputation. It smacks off fake reviews, and can seem less trustworthy to potential clients. If you have nothing but 5-star reviews and gushing words of praise, customers might well view your business with skepticism. If you sound “too good to be true,” chances are you will lose business.

Sharp, smart consumers perceive reviews on a sort of bell curve, giving less weight to any comment that falls on either end of the spectrum. Reviews that occupy a middle ground and that outline both the positive and the negative are simply more believable.

Of course, you want the overall impression to be positive, but it’s just fine — preferable, really — to have some reviews that discuss the pros and the cons, the areas in which your business shines and in which you’ve dropped the ball.

Your Response Matters

What do you do when a dissatisfied customer posts an angry rant? How you handle this situation is another important factor in managing your online reputation.

As the expression goes, “haters gonna hate.” There will always be a percentage of customers whom you won’t be able to satisfy, no matter how hard you try. Nevertheless, your reaction to these haters will serve as a good indicator of your professionalism — not only to the dissatisfied customer, but also to other potential consumers.

Don’t stick your head in the sand. Respond to negative reviews calmly and kindly. Acknowledge the complaint, apologize, and offer to rectify the situation.

Most importantly, do not let yourself become embroiled in a shouting match or a he-said/she-said scenario. Addressing complaints head-on and in a respectful manner might not appease the complainant, but it will appeal to everyone else who is reading the reviews and your responses.

It’s also a good idea to respond to positive reviews. A quick note of appreciation and thanks goes a long way towards establishing your business as responsive.

In short, responding to reviews, whether they are negative or positive, is an opportunity to communicate your core values, your focus on customer service, your commitment to quality, and much more. Don’t leave that opportunity on the table.

Managing Business Ratings When You’re Busy

If you think that monitoring reviews, responding to complaints, thanking loyal customers, and addressing business ratings across multiple platforms sounds like a time-consuming occupation, well, you’re right.

Your company’s reputation is understandably important to you. In a perfect world, you would respond to both complaints and commendations personally. Yet you likely have enough hats to wear without taking on another role.

It might be time to think about outsourcing this aspect of marketing to a firm that specializes in reputation management.

Many people turn to Twitter, Facebook, and other sites to spout off about poor service, or to give a shout-out when things work well. Since social media and business ratings go hand-in-hand, consider employing a digital marketing company that can handle social media management, too.

Finally…

In today’s Internet-oriented society, you simply cannot afford to let bad business ratings get the better of you. It only takes one squeaky wheel to drive off potential customers. Conversely, receiving positive reviews can do wonders for your reputation, and for your bottom line.

Invest some time in claiming your business listings, reading what your customers have to say, and engage in a respectful dialogue with them. You will see the benefits, and sooner rather than later.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/why-having-great-online-business-ratings-will-help-your-company-succeed/feed/How to Recover From a Google Penguin Penaltyhttps://www.latitudepark.com/seo/how-to-recover-from-a-google-penguin-penalty/
https://www.latitudepark.com/seo/how-to-recover-from-a-google-penguin-penalty/#respondThu, 05 Apr 2018 08:25:22 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=944The royal penguin’s diet is made up of mainly fish. However, the Google Penguin penalty eats fishy links.

Did the Penguin Penalty take a bite out of your website? Let’s take a look at how to recover.

What Exactly is the Penguin Penalty?

The Penguin Update was Google’s answer to responding to spammy and shady link-building practices like link farms.

A lot of businesses were buying links on these sites, that were no more than link depositories. It would give a search engine optimization boost to the business, but hold absolutely no value to the searcher.

So the Penguin was dispatched to seek out and destroy spamming links that don’t get a searcher any closer to what they’re looking for.

What is a Spammy Link?

The Google Penguin’s natural enemy is the exact match keyword, and exact match anchor text, on an irrelevant site.

Let’s say you’re a real estate agent. For you, a spammy link would be the anchor text “best realtor San Diego,” on the website that has absolutely nothing to do with homes or real estate.

This means today there is absolutely no focus on the quantity of links you have a linking back to your site. It is 100% about quality.

What to Do If You’ve Been Hurt by the Penguin Penalty

The businesses that were using these shady link-building practices saw their ranking drop for important keywords, almost overnight. Meanwhile, the people doing the right things all along skyrocketed up the rankings.

If you were in the first category, the good news is the penguin update is part of Google score algorithm. This means it works in real time and any changes you make for the better will impact your ranking almost right away.

The bad news is the more you invested in these spammy link building practices, the more damage control you have to do. Every one of these links is hurting you as we speak.

Audit and Purge Spammy Links

Depending on how many bad links you have out there, you might want to consider hiring an SEO or link building agency to take care of this for you. Because there is a bit of work involved.

The first thing you need to do is audit all of your links. You need to decide what is organic and relevant, versus what is spammy and likely holding you back.

Once you have filled a spreadsheet with your undesirable links, it’s time to get rid of them. You need to reach out to the administrators of these websites, and tell them to take these links down as soon as possible.

The key challenge here is that a lot of these link farms are fly-by-night operations, and you might not be able to get in touch with the people who could help you.

If that’s the case, you will want to “nofollow” all of these links ASAP.

Commit to Doing Things the Right Way From Now On

It has never been easier to do your own link building. But it’s never been harder to do it the right way.

It’s hard to predict exactly what Google updates are on the horizon, but we can tell you that these updates will always favor the people who are doing the work and refuse to cut corners or cheat.

This means earning good links, not buying them.

What is a Good Link and How Do I Get One?

Again, you might want to reach out to an SEO or digital PR agency to handle this for you. Because the link building playbook in 2018 requires quite a bit of work.

Here is where you and your agency need to focus.

Guest Posts

Let’s use the example of a realtor again. A really great opportunity for you would be to write a guest post for a lifestyle magazine about whether or not you need home staging.

That’s a relevant fit and the type of good organic traffic that Google now rewards. Of course, you want to make sure that the site that you’re doing this with has a fairly clean reputation and good SCO score of their own.

Media Coverage

This will often start with things like press releases, and media outreach campaigns.

Anytime you can get your business or offerings written about or blogged about in respectable media websites, this is a big win. Google gives a lot of clout to these websites. Again, this good and organic traffic on a relevant site.

Influencer Marketing

This is pretty similar to media coverage. In this case, you are likely targeting a single individual instead of an entire media outlet.

This will be somebody who has clout in your industry. Maybe they’re a blogger or video blogger.

You need to tactfully reach out to them to get them to write about you. A lot of the time this would take the form of something like a product review.

Again, one more time, this is relevant and organic traffic. And you’re basically piggybacking off of the success of their web traffic.

Get Good, Organic Links to Avoid the Penguin Penalty

We can start by reviewing your web properties using on-page SEO software. We then optimize your existing content. Next, we promote your site on large-scale editorial sites like USA Today, INC, Forbes and handful of other partner websites.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/seo/how-to-recover-from-a-google-penguin-penalty/feed/The Advantages of Using Local Directories For Your Businesshttps://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/the-advantages-of-using-local-directories-for-your-business/
https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/the-advantages-of-using-local-directories-for-your-business/#respondThu, 05 Apr 2018 05:54:40 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=960Have you ever wondered if it’s worth it to list your business in local directories?

Business listings may not seem as relevant as they were in the days of white pages and yellow pages listings.

The thing to remember is that even though the technology has changed, the concept is still the same. It just that people turn to their phones or computers to find businesses instead of a heavy book.

Google found that 50% of people who searched for a local business on their phones visited a store the next day. Same with 34% of people who searched on a desktop computer.

Keep reading to learn about even more advantages to listing your business in directories.

What Are the Top Local Directories?

There are hundreds of local directories online today. You could list yourself in all of them. However, it makes sense to start with the top ones and then add more directories periodically.

Google MyBusiness: If you’re going to choose one listing for your business, this is it. Google owns about 90% of all search traffic.

Yelp: Yelp is a site that many people use for reviews, especially restaurants and retail businesses.

Better Business Bureau: Many people will turn to the BBB for reviews and check a business’s rating.

Bing: Bing may be thought of as the other search engine, but having your listing here can reach millions of people who still use it.

Yahoo: Yahoo is still considered one of the big search engines, even though its market share was taken by Google.

Angie’s List: This is a perfect fit for home or healthcare needs. Angie’s List has become a resource for homeowners looking for contractors and healthcare professionals.

Manta: Manta serves as a listing directory and an opportunity to network with other businesses. They claim to have over 20 million users, so it’s worth a look.

Yp.com: Yes, people still do turn to the yellow pages. They’re mostly older consumers who are used to using the book.

White Pages: This is a massive directory that reaches people in the U.S. and Canada.

What Do They Cost?

Most of these directory listings are free. You’ll want to read the fine print to make sure you’re just listing your business. Yahoo offers a listing service that costs $29, which is prominently displayed on their page. However, just a regular listing is free.

There is one caveat to these free listings. You should be prepared to get phone calls from representatives from online directories to sell you advertising.

Otherwise, you have an easy and cost-effective way to make an impact on your business.

Local Directories Help with SEO

One of the main reasons why you want to take the time to list your business in online directories is to improve your search rankings.

If you’re just starting a new local SEO campaign, you’ll know that it can take time to build up your website and appear in organic search results.

With online directories, you’ll piggyback off of the SEO and authority of the online directories.

You’re also going to build valuable backlinks to your site, which will have a positive impact. Backlinks are still one of the top factors that Google uses to determine if a website should be listed towards the top or not. The more quality backlinks you have, the better.

Enhances Your Referral Strategy

If it does, you’ll want to make sure you’re listed in local directories.

A typical referral path looks like this. A person searching for products or services you provide asks friends, neighbors, or poses a question on social media about good providers.

One of your current or former customers chimes in and mentions your business.

Since he or she can easily look up contact information on their phone, that person will go to a search engine to look up your business.

How your listing appears will make a good or bad impression. If there are positive reviews with your listing, they’ll most likely call.

If they can’t find your business, or if there are negative reviews or multiple numbers, they may try to go to your website to find out more information. They may also give up and move on to the next possible business.

Brand Awareness

When someone uses Google or local directories and sees your listing, your business will appear when they search for certain products or services.

Even if they don’t click on your listing, you still made a connection.

The more someone sees your business, the more likely they will be to remember your business. They’ll want to learn more about your business and perhaps visit your website.

Making the Most of Your Listings

With some listings, such as Google MyBusiness, there’s a lot of real estate to tell your story and let people know more about your business.

You should add plenty of quality photos and make sure you have online reviews. Your content should give people a reason to visit your location and be engaging.

The key to making all of your work worthwhile is to ensure that your listings are correct. They all need to have the same address, business name, and phone number.

An old phone number or address in a few listings could prevent search engines from showing your correct information. Not only will people searching for your business not trust your business listings, search engines won’t either. They don’t want to give users incorrect information.

That could result in not gaining the full benefits of listing in a local directory.

The Benefits of Local Directories

Local directory listings are an easy and cost-effective way to improve your brand’s visibility, get found by search engines, and make it easy for referrals to find you.

The only drawback is that it can be a time-consuming process to enter your listing information and review your listings for accuracy.

OnPage Optimized can help you We have several packages available that range from citation audits to listing your business in over 90 directories.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/the-advantages-of-using-local-directories-for-your-business/feed/Benefits of Using Business Listing Websiteshttps://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/benefits-of-using-business-listing-websites/
https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/benefits-of-using-business-listing-websites/#respondTue, 03 Apr 2018 06:35:53 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=950Back in the day, any business worth its salt was listed in the Yellow Pages or local equivalent. Times may have changed, but the need for these services haven’t.

Business listing websites may have just modernized an old-fashioned concept, but they can have major benefits for your business.

Read on as we guide you through the benefits of using business listing websites.

They’re Free

Well, they’re not all free, but a lot of them are.

Crucially, the big players – Google, Bing, and Yelp – all have free listing services and your business needs to be on there. They will allow you to list information your customers need like contact details, address, opening times, and services provided. Some will even let you upload photos and logos to personalize your profile.

Other smaller players also draw from listings on bigger websites meaning your online presence could mushroom from just your initial listing.

Marketing that targets the people you want, but makes no dent in your budget – sounds like a win/win to us!

A Word of Caution

A word to the wise – keep on top of your presence on business listing websites.

Customers will quickly become frustrated by inaccurate or out of date information. This is a good way to ensure your business flat-lines, rather than makes progress.

Reach More People

Most businesses are looking to target more people in a relatively small area. That’s where business listing websites are potentially hugely beneficial to your business.

With a direct search, they know who you are, and just want to track down your website. With a discovery search, they are looking for something general, for example, wood flooring nearby.

Whether they’re searching in a directory or on a map, if you have a listing with comprehensive information, your details will pop up.

This complements your existing website by getting you noticed. Embed a link to your website on your profile on the business listing website, and you’ll direct customers right to where you want them.

Get the Right People to Your Door

This is where niche business listing websites could work for you.

These sites cater to particular areas of business or interest. Listing on them could help direct the specific customers you are looking for to your site.

Take time to cultivate your listing. Include appealing photos, positive (genuine) customer feedback and even articles that would appeal to your audience.

Get Discovered More Easily

The beauty of business listing websites is their search functions. They allow people to track down exactly what they’re looking for by using search parameters such as business type and location to find you.

Make sure that you are on the map – literally.

If you’re running a business dependent on walk-ins, then ‘around me’ searches on top mapping software, such as Google Maps and Apple Maps are invaluable.

Within seconds, your potential customers can be devouring your menu, or the latest pics of customers enjoying your services. Recent customer reviews keep you current and can sway people to head your way.

Bring Local People to You

The beauty of business listings is that they allow local people to enter their area and narrow down results that are within striking distance of them. These are the people who are most likely to be your repeat customers year to year. In the modern age, they will make that first connection online.

Get Seen – Even If They Don’t Click

It’s important to make sure your brand has a major online presence. That means that even if potential clients don’t click straight away, they’re gaining familiarity with you and what you stand for.

By having a professional, well-maintained listing on all major business listing websites, you’re letting everyone know that you’re there and that you mean business.

Next time they’re on the lookout for a new contact, you’ll already have made an impression. That can turn into a click-through further down the line.

Enhance Your Reputation

By listing your business in a directory, you have a chance to showcase your products and services to the world, and they have a chance to tell everybody what they think of you. Nowadays, people increasingly check out customer reviews before making a choice about the business they’ll use, the restaurant they’ll eat at, or the place they’ll visit on vacation.

Research indicates that positive reviews make 73% of people trust a business more. Yelp and Facebook come out a people’s favorites for reading local reviews and are definitely places you need to have a presence.

Not all reviews are positive, but the listing forum gives you an opportunity to respond. When you respond carefully, you can show you care about your customers and value their feedback.

Rank Highly on Google

You’ve got to be in it to win it.

If you want your business at or close to the top of the pile when someone hits search, you need to have a carefully managed presence on business listing websites. With the first page of a Google search accounting for at least 71% of clicks, that’s where you want to be to bring the customers in.

For ways to send your business to the top of the class, make sure you’re working getting SEO tailored to the needs your business.

The Takeaway: Benefits of Using Business Listing Websites

If you’re looking for more customers, particularly locals, then business listing services are a no-brainer for you. They help people to find you, get to know your brand, and they are a great way outside of your dedicated website to showcase the best of your business.

The key is maintaining your presence, cultivating the customer reviews and making sure that your brand is being presented accurately and as you want it.

At Latitude Park, we’re here to make sure that your local SEO is where it needs to be. Check out the great services we can offer your business today.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/benefits-of-using-business-listing-websites/feed/6 Reasons Why Your Business Needs Professional SEO Serviceshttps://www.latitudepark.com/seo/6-reasons-why-your-business-needs-professional-seo-services-2/
https://www.latitudepark.com/seo/6-reasons-why-your-business-needs-professional-seo-services-2/#respondMon, 02 Apr 2018 01:44:20 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=770Marketing budgets are going up as even small businesses are now spending an average of $75,000 a year on digital campaigns. This is a significant budget item for a number of businesses, meaning that they want to know that they’re going to get a return on their investment. That’s why an increasing number of businesses are turning to professional SEO services for their digital needs.

Search engine optimization takes advantage of the way that search engines index and rank websites. Search engines use a tool called a “web crawler” to look through every page of a site for broken links, design hierarchy, and keywords. Based on a long list of criteria, they rate these sites as relevant to certain subject matter, indexing them in advance of user searches.

If you’re wondering whether or not your company should consider professional SEO services, here are 6 reasons why you should go with a pro.

1. You’ll Save Time

If you’re running a small business, it’s likely you’re wearing a few different hats at any given time. You could be making executive decisions, inventory choices, and doing small maintenance work, all in the course of an hour. You don’t have the time to dedicate to digital marketing on top of that.

You know your products better than anyone else and how to communicate with customers. You should be doing what you know best–managing your company–and leave the nitty gritty digital work to a professional.

Although most business owners work more than 40 hours a week, your time is certainly worth more than most of the other people in your business.

If, for the price of what you’d pay your receptionist, you could get professional SEO services, why wouldn’t you hire someone who could do that?

It could cost you a few hundred thousand dollars to put together a meager digital marketing team for your business. You could get that value for a fraction of the cost by hiring professionals.

2. Get Great Results

Even if you’ve got a great website, you might not be seeing the kind of traffic that you know you deserve. The fixes to get you to the top of the first page of search results in your industry could be straightforward, but finding the time isn’t.

While you might know some of the issues you have with SEO, you might not have the time to do a full audit. Professional SEO services will start off by assessing where you are and where you need to go.

Most of the initial work of SEO is straightforward, but some of your work could involve cleaning your codebase or fixing your sitemap. This is tedious and time-consuming work. You need to be worrying about closing sales, rather than cleaning up code.

3. Accuracy

One of the great sins of strong managers is wanting to do everything themselves. It makes sense because you know your products and customers so well. Why not handle all of your digital campaignings on your own?

You’ve fixed pipes in your office, designed promotional material, and maybe even repaired your own work vehicle. Unfortunately, fixing SEO isn’t as simple.

Professional SEO services will manage your brand not just as it stands today, but relative to trends coming down the pipeline. While you can make fixes to your pipes and forget it about it for the foreseeable future, websites don’t work that way. They take constant tending, like a garden.

Keyword targeting will change as an industry changes. Regional trends will require your business to use different local terminology and target different audiences over time. Professional SEO services can target your customers with accuracy and turn leads into sales.

4. Track A Moving Target

With changes on social media being introduced daily, it’s hard to know how to target audiences through every channel. Professional SEO services will offer opportunities to engage with your customer base in new ways.

If you don’t have social media profiles for every product under your brand, it’s time to build them now. SEO professionals can help you to track your demographics across each major social media platform and keep you relevant in this changing landscape.

Every social media platform has a different style. Twitter allows brands to engage with their customers immediately, while Instagram lets you show off your products visually. Facebook has a slightly older demographic and allows you to get a little more expository with your engagement.

SEO professionals will help you to understand what kind of content you should be putting on each platform for the best results.

5. No Penalties

One of the worst punishments any business could receive from a search engine is to be penalized for taking shortcuts. The old methods of spamming in comments, filling your metadata with repeating keywords, and hiding invisible text are now considered unethical.

Search engines reward organic traffic or traffic that ends up on your site due to a natural process of browsing and recommending. Once you get blacklisted, it’s hard to dig out of that hole. If you pay for cheap SEO consulting or try to do it the old way, you could end up in this situation.

6. A Second Opinion Is Important

If you’ve been working on your website for a while, you could get bored with things or make simple mistakes. It’s always good to get a second pair of eyes on your work.

You’ll also be able to learn from SEO professionals when it comes to best practices and emerging trends.

Professional SEO Services Bring Quality Traffic

Hiring SEO professionals will ensure that you get quality traffic to your site. While cheaper SEO services could initially bring in higher numbers, those might be bots that hit your site because they fell for cheap tricks. Organic and quality SEO takes time and money.

If you’re ready to find the right professional SEO services for your company, contact us today for tips on finding a perfect fit.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/seo/6-reasons-why-your-business-needs-professional-seo-services-2/feed/What to Look for in the Best Business Review Siteshttps://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/what-to-look-for-in-the-best-business-review-sites/
https://www.latitudepark.com/business-marketing/what-to-look-for-in-the-best-business-review-sites/#respondSun, 01 Apr 2018 06:32:42 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=96684% of people trust an online review as much as they’d trust a personal recommendation. And 90% of consumers read online reviews before they make a purchasing decision.

Business owners need to rely on getting reviews and testimonials if they want to increase their business. But it’s not just about having reviews on your own website, you need to focus on getting reviews placed on other sites as well.

Most of us know about Yelp, but there are other business review sites to think about. Often, Yelp isn’t the best choice.

Here’s how to find the best sites for people to review your business.

Review Sites for B2C Companies

If your company sells products directly to consumers, Yelp probably isn’t the best place to be found. That’s more of a website directed at consumers looking for specific types of services like restaurants, spas, and yoga studios.

Amazon

Instead, focus on business review sites like Amazon.com that allow users to review products that your business sells.

They’ve been having users leave reviews since 1995. It’s the most trusted site for people to research reviews before they buy a product.

To help you separate your product from your competition, you’ll need to get as many five-star ratings as you can. You’ll also need a lot of positive customer reviews.

Angie’s List

Angie’s List is also another great site for companies that do sell services directly to consumers. It’s considered a high-end review site because their users have to pay for a membership to use the site.

Most reviews are well thought out versus the ranting and raving that you often find at free sites. They’re also not anonymous, which cuts down on fake or misleading reviews.

Another benefit of using Angie’s List is you can respond to the reviews consumers leave for your business. It’s also free for you to set up a page for your company.

Google My Business

Of course, Google is on this list of business review sites. It’s the most used search engine by far.

Google’s Pigeon algorithm update helps improve local search results by using distance and location ranking parameters. To ensure your business’ website is properly optimized for search, set up verified accounts with local directories.

Especially Google’s own, Google my Business. You’ll get a boost in searches as you gain more reviews, comments, and pictures from your customers.

Only local Google+ pages can respond to reviews so get your page started immediately so you won’t miss out. Google Maps even pulls your information and reviews into the app, meaning your business will look more reputable.

Business Review Sites for B2B Companies

Not all businesses sell to consumers. Some businesses only target other companies to sell their products and services.

When other businesses are your bread and butter, it’s time to look for business review sites that are specifically made for B2B companies. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

G2 Crowd

G2 Crowd is a great review site for companies selling software. Over 300,000 get on that site each month to look for the latest software and read the 37,000+ user reviews.

This site is a bit like Yelp, but for a specific niche. Users review companies on a five-star scale. The reviews can cover anything from ease-of-use to security and support.

It even allows reviewers to answer questions about what they like best and least about the software. It also lets you upvote and downvote other user reviews.

TrustRadius

TrustRadius also is one of the business review sites for software.

What sets TrustRadius apart from the others is that it makes reviewers on the site be authenticated by LinkedIn to ensure they’re real users.

This also lets users see what their other LinkedIn connections are saying about specific pieces of software. It adds an additional layer of trust and helps users stay up-to-date with the latest and best software available on the market today.

You can also browse reviews of individual companies or compare two of them side-by-side to get a better comparison.

You’ll also find buyer guides for everything including business intelligence software, core HR software, social media, and even A/B testing.

SalesForce App Exchange

Apple isn’t the only place to list your app. Try SalesForce App Exchange.

Users have access to thousands of reviews. Those reviews are based on a five-star rating system.

They list each app with the most helpful positive review and most helpful negative review being shown first. Then they list all the reviews but the user can filter them by rating, date, and even helpfulness.

Review Sites for B2B and B2C Companies

Some companies sell products and services to both the public and to other companies. There are a few business review sites that cater to both niches.

Better Business Bureau

The Better Business Bureau is a nonprofit site. It evaluates all types of businesses based on a set of best practices for how businesses should treat the public.

It’s a site not used to endorse any companies but merely to provide the public with information about businesses and whether or not they have met the accreditation standards set forth by the BBB.

However, they review both accredited and non-accredited businesses. Each business has a profile listing that contains overview information such as the bio, their accreditation status, and any complaints against the business.

Also shown is customer reviews, what their BBB rating is, and whether or not any complaints against them were resolved.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor is a little different from all the other business review sites. It’s an employee review site.

Allowing employees review their place of work allows people, from prospective customers, investors, and employees gain inside knowledge about what it’s really like on the inside.

Employees are encouraged to share what it’s like to interview and work at their companies. You’ll also be able to see which companies are rated highest by their employees.

It’s free to set up an employer account. You can also easily track and respond to reviews.

Many employers also use this site to build their brand and recruit top candidates. However, you can also use this site as a tool to improve your company based on your employee’s reviews.

Improve Your SEO

Business review sites will definitely help improve your SEO rankings. But there’s a lot more you can do.

Our company offers a wide variety of SEO services designed to help your company stand out from the rest. Contact us to get started.

If you’ve heard a little bit about PR’s before, but don’t know how to use them to generate PR backlinks, stick around. I’m going to reveal the 5 golden rules you need to focus on if you are going to generate high-quality PR backlinks.

When finished with this post, you’ll have all the knowledge you need to create a PR so awesome, high-authority domains can’t help but link to you.

Let’s begin!

1. Make Sure Your PR Is Newsworthy

If your PR is newsworthy, it will be easier to get PR backlinks from prestigious websites. So think about what you can do that will be worth creating a PR around.

You could, for example, conduct a unique piece of research. Create a survey and ask your customers questions which will help shed light on a particular topic, specific to your industry.

You could also interview some of the successful people within your industry. Do a profile on them and ask them what their steps to success were. If you’ve done something special within your company, use the PR as your means of telling the world what you have achieved.

Everyone loves a good story. If there’s a good story behind some of the challenges you’ve overcome in your business, use your PR to bring some light to these stories.

2. Pick the Right PR Service

There are often specialized PR services for certain industries.

Make sure you pick a service that is going to be able to service your industry. This is important as it will help you get your PR in front of people who will actually care about it.

If you can’t find a PR service dedicated to your niche, don’t be afraid to email existing PR companies, asking for advice. If you can’t find a PR service dedicated to your industry, don’t worry. As you’ll see later, you can always manually promote your PR.

3. Be Careful With Your Anchor Text

Google recently cracked down on websites that a had a lot of “exact match anchor text backlinks.”

Backlinks that use exact match anchor text typically tend to be links that contain anchor text using the exact keyword you’re trying to rank for.

The problem with using such anchor text is that it makes it clear to Google you’re trying to game their algorithm. As a result, you should shy away from exact match anchor text backlinks.

So just how should you link to your site, within a PR? Perhaps the best way to do this is the most natural way. If there’s a viable opportunity to link to your site within a PR, do it.

You also shouldn’t be afraid of using “naked URL backlinks.” These are backlinks which simply list out the URL of your site.

Such backlinks work well because they help show the authenticity of the link in question. After all, with such backlinks, you’re not forcing a keyword into a sentence, nor are you over using a certain keyword.

4. Respect the Process

PR companies can be very stringent in terms of the quality they demand from a PR. If your PR is low in quality, the PR company might ask you to edit your content, so it meets their standard.

If you are having some trouble with the writing process, consider hiring a writer. Someone who has produced a PR before will know how to create one which is high-quality.

When working with a PR writer, make sure you let them know exactly what you want the PR to convey. If you can do this ahead of time, it will help reduce the amount of back and forth you will have to go through.

Working with a PR writer might cost you a bit more than you had initially budgeted, but you’ll find you get what you pay for. A lot of people will find this all quite frustrating. But, you should respect this process and not see it as a hindrance.

After all, the better the quality of your PR, the more likely it will be respected by your target audience. All of which can go a long way in helping you to generate PR backlinks.

5. Be Proactive to Maximize PR Backlinks

Sure, your PR might have some groundbreaking information within. But why should that mean the PR will automatically fall into the hands of the right people?

If you want success with, you need to take an active approach and promote your PR.

The best way to do this is by identifying the websites which have an audience that will resonate with your PR. You then need to find the editors of these websites and forward them your PR. When you do this, make sure you lead with the most interesting thing about your PR.

For example, if you’ve conducted a unique piece of research, put it in your subject line when emailing the editor. Better yet, if there’s a surprising stat in your PR, use that instead!

If you’re having trouble reaching the editors of a given website, consider reaching out to them via social media.

Check if they have a Twitter profile, follow them and then send them a message. Alternatively, you could also check to see if they have a profile on LinkedIn. If they do, send them a connection request or even an InMail.

Keep in mind this is going to be a bit of a numbers game. No matter how cool your PR is, there will always be editors who don’t want to touch base with you.

Final Thoughts on PR Backlinks

PR’s aren’t pointless. If done properly, you can use PR’s to generate killer backlinks.

In this post, we’ve taken a look at 5 golden rules you need to focus on if you want to maximize your ability to generate PR backlinks.

Don’t feel intimidated by the process. As long as you stick to the 5 rules we’ve covered, you should be well on your way to enjoying the benefits that PR’s can bring to your website.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/backlink-strategy/5-golden-rules-for-building-pr-backlinks/feed/Your Backlink Audit Checklist for 2018https://www.latitudepark.com/backlink-strategy/your-backlink-audit-checklist-for-2018/
https://www.latitudepark.com/backlink-strategy/your-backlink-audit-checklist-for-2018/#respondThu, 29 Mar 2018 02:32:46 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=926With the average small business now devoting 35% of their marketing budget to digital marketing, the value of SEO and backlinks is at a premium.

Search engines rank websites for multiple criteria including not only keywords but also how often they post, how fast their site is, and the reputability of their links. Having dead links can get your site severely penalized by search engines. Even just having nofollow links could be a waste of your brand’s resources.

Running a backlink audit can take the temperature of your backlinks and ensure they’re providing the value that you’re paying for. Follow this simple 5 step checklist to ensure your backlinks are in tip-top shape.

1. Gather Your Data

Start by getting together with your site administrator to make sure you’ve got access to all the data you need for your audit. If you’re already using a site monitor tool, make sure you’ve got admin access to your tools. Make sure that if data is dispersed across several apps, you’re coordinating your efforts.

You should be able to get specific data related to your backlinks where you can see all of the links pointing back to your site. Several tools offer the ability to export all of the data as a CSV, XLS, or even XML sheet. With this data in hand, you can get to the work of managing data.

Once you have the data, your backlink audit can begin.

2. Organize the Data

Depending on the size of your company, you’ll have a lot of data to look at. Organizing and ordering this list will allow you get assess it easier and search for any redundancy issues.

See if you can filter out your dead links and nofollow links. Dead links could return an error page like a 404 or a 503. When users come across these pages, they will often head somewhere else in frustration.

If you’re looking to increase traffic to your site with a backlink audit, you need to eliminate dead links. If any of your backlinks result in an error, you need to fix it ASAP.

If you have nofollow links, you should find a way to switch them out. They don’t pass value to your site because they don’t get crawled by search engines. They’re a lower priority concern because, unless they’re spammy, they won’t be counted for or against you.

3. Classify Your Links

Filter through your links in search of those hitting live and operational URLs. If another site is hitting your site from multiple URLs but the same domain, you might see multiple backlinks. But only the authentic URL from that site will count.

If you’re using a backlink audit tool, you might be able to filter out those authentic links. Otherwise, you might have to filter everything by hand.

Now you can create a list to classify the links that you have. If you’re getting a series of bad or unnatural links, you need to find a way to measure them. Every company or brand will have a way to determine what’s a natural link and which isn’t.

Thankfully there are some common signals to look for in a bad link. Look out for links on foreign, lower-quality, or sites that seem irrelevant. If you run into a repeated anchor text that’s an exact match, you might want to change these up. Flag them for later.

If you see sites that low authority scores, or have what you think is low-quality content, flag them as well.

If you find a de-indexed domain, beware. That could get your SEO score penalized by search engines.

4. Check Every Link

Once you’ve got a list of what elements you’re looking for, you have to audit every link. This process is sure to be time-consuming, especially for a large website, so ensure the proper amount of resources has been allocated.

While you can use tools to help you, you should do a second run of manually checking these links. The accuracy will depend more on your own discretion than the success of an algorithm.

While you might seek to speed this process up, taking shortcuts won’t be worth the trouble.

Review your links carefully according to the criteria you’ve created. Be systematic and diligent and you’ll end up with a tight set of links at the end. If this is your first run through, set up a system that other auditors can follow in the future.

5. Prioritize Links For Removal

Everyone will have their own system for marking links. One way to do it is to mark those links red and then pull them into another list. You’ll need this list when you decide to develop a link removal plan.

Once you’re completed, you’ll have a pretty long list that needs to be removed. Since you’re talking about a lot more work that needs to be done, you’ll need to organize them by priority. The ones you want to fix first should be the links that are connected to your most critical pages.

The pages your customers are more likely to see should have the cleanest links. Non-critical pages with fewer inbound links can be saved for later. After you go through this process you should see your traffic go up and your SEO score improve immensely.

Run A Backlink Audit On A Regular Basis

You never know when even a high-quality, heavily trafficked site could go under. Even major sites reshuffle their URLs every few years. To stay on top of the SEO results, you need to constantly check your pulse.

If you’re looking for more information on how to keep on top of your site’s rankings, contact us for tips and tools.

]]>https://www.latitudepark.com/backlink-strategy/your-backlink-audit-checklist-for-2018/feed/8 Reasons Why Your Business Could Benefit from Expert SEO Serviceshttps://www.latitudepark.com/seo/8-reasons-why-your-business-could-benefit-from-expert-seo-services/
https://www.latitudepark.com/seo/8-reasons-why-your-business-could-benefit-from-expert-seo-services/#respondWed, 28 Mar 2018 02:41:15 +0000https://www.onpageoptimized.com/?p=932The Internet is by far one of the most important tools that your company can invest time and money in.

It not only serves as a way to promote your brand to hundreds of thousands of potential customers, it’s also an avenue you can use to interact with them. But, you need to have a solid SEO strategy to make any use of it.

Strong SEO practices will help your company secure the coveted number one spot on Google’s front page. It will also make sure that your audience has an easier time finding you when searching the web.

But, it can be difficult to handle SEO responsibilities while managing the rest of your business. Luckily, expert SEO services can handle the work for you.

Let’s check out eight ways they can help your company.

1. Increased Traffic

Online traffic is a vital metric to focus on when looking to scale your business. When more people visit your company’s site, the more likely it will be that you’ll make a conversion.

For example, let’s assume that only one percent of visitors actually make a purchase on your website. Would you rather have one percent of 1,000 visitors convert? Or 100,000 visitors?

A larger volume of traffic is sure to increase your profits.

But, unless you’re fortunate enough for your content to go viral (you most likely won’t be), the only way to build this kind of traffic is through strong SEO efforts.

2. Save Time

As previously mentioned, it can be difficult to manage your other internal operations while simultaneously focusing on SEO.

In fact, it’s important for entrepreneurs to outsource as much as possible so that they can free up more time to focus on responsibilities that only they can handle.

As the old adage goes, time is money. When you save time, you’ll be able to utilize those extra hours to generate more cash.

3. Crush The Competition

Your competitors are more than likely using solid SEO tactics. Therefore, your SEO strategy is going to have to be just as solid if you plan on keeping up with them.

This is especially true for companies that operate in markets that have a high level of competition, such as clothing companies, restaurants, etc.

In order to stay on top of your industry, you’ll have to invest a bit of time (and money) in expert SEO services. While the initial business expense may be off-putting, it will catapult you to success in the long run.

4. Build Credibility

Consumers tend to have more trust in companies that have a strong presence online. It makes sense if you think about it: why would you want to make a purchase from a business that has no information available?

Expert SEO services will help make sure that your company’s visibility on search engines stays high so that your audience can find you. This increased visibility has the secondary benefit of establishing you as an authority in your industry.

Credibility is important, but you can’t buy it outright. You have to build it over time, which SEO can help you achieve.

5. Mistakes Could Cost You

Ironically, poor SEO practices can actually be worse for your business than not using SEO at all. While a lack of sufficient SEO strategies will keep you from getting the traffic you desire, bad SEO moves come with consequences.

For example, let’s say that you decide to publish tons of blogs on your website filled with the keywords you’re trying to rank for. It makes sense, right? All you have to do is have a large volume of the keywords you want.

Well, it’s not that simple, and you’ll pay the price for it.

First of all, Google may deem that the quality of your website is far lower than you’d like. This will result in your rankings plummeting.

Second, no authoritative site will ever link to any of your pages if it’s obvious that you’re spamming keywords.

But, some businesses aren’t aware that habits like this could be detrimental to their performance, which is why expert SEO services exist in the first place.

6. Stronger Results

When you have a professional do something for you, the job is almost always done better than if you had done it yourself. You wouldn’t try to fix your car’s engine with no experience, would you?

The same concept applies to SEO. It can actually save you money to hire a professional SEO service rather than to invest your time in learning the process yourself.

Plus, these services will help you put higher quality content on your website, which is something that your site’s visitors are sure to appreciate.

7. A Different Perspective

Sometimes, it can take an outside perspective to help you figure out why your SEO techniques aren’t working. Chances are that the answer was right in front of you the whole time.

These services will not only help you find what’s wrong, they’ll help you fix the issues, too. This is vital if you want your business to perform at optimum efficiency as quickly as possible.

So, if you find yourself at a roadblock, step back and have someone else take the reins. You’ll be glad you did.

8. SEO Is Here to Stay

The Internet isn’t going anywhere, and neither is SEO. Therefore, you’re going to have to learn how to incorporate SEO tactics into your business practices.

While SEO isn’t always the defining factor of a successful business, having solid SEO can’t hurt you. Increased visibility and engagement are two things most companies can always benefit from.

Rather than stubbornly look for an alternative or refuse to jump onto SEO just because everyone else is trying it, acknowledge that it’s a powerful tool you can take advantage of.

Expert SEO Services Are Worth It

Outsourcing is a great way to spend a little money to make a lot of money, and SEO is no different. You should be using SEO anyway, so it makes sense to get it right from the beginning.

But, there’s more to it than links and blogs. There are plenty of other methods that can drive traffic to your site. Want to learn more? Check out what we have to offer.